Josh Donaldson AL player of week

Josh Donaldson says he was watching the MLB Network while his girlfriend was fixing breakfast today when suddenly they announced that he is the American League Player of the Week.

“I was like, ‘What? Huh?’ ” Donaldson said with a laugh. “And then the announcement ended and I was like, ‘This is crazy.’

“I’m kind of surprised. You know when you’re swinging the bat well, and I knew I was, but usually guys win Player of the Week when they hit four or five homers in a week.”

Donaldson hit .545 with seven doubles, 10 RBIs, seven walks, four runs and a steal in seven games to win the award for the first time in his career.

Left out of the press release from the league: Donaldson’s defense also was superb. He’s now one of the best third basemen in the league – and he was a catcher in Oakland’s organization until the spring of 2012.

“This is really well-deserved,” reliever Sean Doolittle said. “It’s more than what he does at the plate, it’s all the great plays he makes in the field. We’re getting used to seeing him running into the bullpen every other inning.”

Donaldson credited shortstop Jed Lowrie with keeping his head on right during an early-season funk in which he was hitting the ball hard but getting few hits. After Donaldson broke a bat over his knee after making an out in Houston, Lowrie had a quick word with him.

“He said, ‘Hey, you’re a really good player, keep battling,’ and that meant a lot from someone who is new here,” Donaldson said.

“I could see the frustration,” Lowrie said. “I felt I could say something to help him step back from frustration and get back to being a good player. He’d swung the bat well, he just hadn’t had a lot of luck. I wanted to provide some perspective, it’s a long season, keep your head up and things will change.”